


Luna

by EmmaTheRevelator (BadWolf1988)



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Interracial Relationship, Native American Man/Biracial Woman, Romance, Winter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 10:31:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12910059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadWolf1988/pseuds/EmmaTheRevelator
Summary: She was a Harry Potter obsessed loner. He was a guy who was trying to leave his old life in the past. Living and working together at her family's ski resort in Montana, the two find themselves falling under each other's spells.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to my beta reader, Meghan (Christlove88)!

I sighed and put my book ( _Harry Potter and the Cursed Child_ ) down as yet another yuppie couple – him on the latest iPhone and her wearing a fur coat and enough diamonds to feed all of Africa for a year – arrived at the desk to check in. I hated winter (technically late autumn but it was already cold enough for snow)... even though Winter was literally my name. My parents must have thought themselves very clever. Let's name the half-black girl Winter January Snow (my last name if you could believe it). I sounded like something that Walt Disney made up.

I lived and worked at Lewis and Clark Ski Resort in Lolo, Montana. Late autumn through early winter was our busiest time of year. My maternal grandparents had started the place in 1952 with four cozy cabins and a fifteen room main resort, all of which sat on Lolo Peak. Over the years, the resort had grown to include twenty-six more cabins, a clubhouse, and in 1987, a new fifty room resort with a luxury spa. All in all, Lewis and Clark Ski Resort occupied almost three miles worth of land on the mountain. When my grandparents passed away, the resort had been passed down to my parents and one day they would leave it to me. I was currently in college at the nearby University of Montana in Missoula. I was studying hotel hospitality (seriously, what else would I study?) and, at nineteen, was set to graduate in the spring. I was an egghead who had graduated from high school at sixteen.

As I was saying earlier... winter was our busiest season for obvious reasons (*hint, hint* SNOW!). The resort was a ghost town from March through August save for the occasional couple looking for a weekend away from the kids. September through February the place was always booked solid and it was hard to get a moment to myself. Between work and school, every moment of my day was taken up. This year, I was doubly annoyed. My professors had all doubled down on the amount of homework they assigned with graduation right around the corner. The Missoula Film Festival was in town and not only was the resort fully booked but so was every other hotel and motel for fifty miles. To add insult to literal injury, I had broken my right wrist the previous week while giving a snowboarding lesson to a group of guests. Our normal instructor had quit without notice so I had been filling in until my dad could hire a new one. Now that I was out of commission we were having to refund customers who had pre-paid for lessons... and most were unhappy about it. One particular redneck man had even been kind enough to call me a half-breed when I had given him his refund. At least half-breed was a step up from nigger and mutt... two names that I had heard way too often in my short time on earth. Half-breed kind of sounded like something out of _Harry Potter_. It sounded like a name a Death Eater would call a half-blood witch or wizard. Half-bloods were almost always better, nobler people than Death Eaters – for example: Severus Snape. I decided that I would wear the insult like a badge of honor. He could have called me something much worse... like Voldemort.

I swiped the yuppie couple's key card to activate it just as my dad was coming out of the back office where he had spent a good portion of the afternoon going over the books. “Enjoy your stay.” I slid the key card into a little envelope and handed it over to the couple before turning to address my dad. “What's up, Gunny?” My dad was a 6'5 wall of muscle who had retired from the Marine Corps only five years earlier with the rank of Gunnery Sargent.

“You can stop refunding snowboarding lessons, my gimpy girl,” he informed me as he handed me a blue personnel file. “I hired a guy this morning while you were at school.”

“You know that gimpy is considered a derogatory term now, right, Gunny?” I raised a teasing eyebrow.

Dad snorted his displeasure. “The world is too damn PC these days.”

I just shook my head at him as I opened the file. The guy's name was Maverick Warren. He was twenty-one and his last occupation was... bail enforcement officer? Okkaayy... that was one that I'd never seen on an application before. His last address... was in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“Gunny, seriously?” I laughed. “You hired a Texan to give snowboarding lessons?”

Dad shrugged. “By virtue of your birth, you're a Texan too, kiddo,” he pointed out.

That's right. I was born in El Paso, Texas when my dad had been stationed at the Marine Corps Detachment at Fort Bliss... on the fourth of July.... and my whacked out parents had still decided to name me Winter.

I held up my cast covered wrist. “Exhibit A as to why I shouldn't be giving lessons.”

“Being a Texan had nothing to do with that you know it.” Dad laughed. “You were the one who tried to kick a soccer ball while strapped to your snowboard. You never did tell me what you were thinking doing that...?”

I was mentally sorting the people in my afternoon lesson into the four houses of Hogwarts. I had one brave Gryffindor, three sweet but dumb Hufflepuffs, one know-it-all Ravenclaw, and the kid who kicked the soccer ball in my direction became my third evil Slytherin.

“I really wasn't thinking.” About my actual job anyway...

Dad just shook his head at me. He knew that I lived in a world all my own. “Anyway, I like this Warren kid. He's had some family troubles so he's moving here to get a fresh start. He's got a good head on his shoulders and he's spent a lot of time here on the slopes. I'm giving him the cabin next to yours.”

 

[ **_MY WEBSITE_ ** ](http://www.badwolfrose.com)


	2. Chapter 2

Dad had taken over the desk and given me the rest of the afternoon off... on one condition. I had to drive out to the cabin that he had assigned to his new hire and make sure that it was ready to be lived in.

The resort's original four cabins were now only used as private residences for family and staff. My dad's mom, whom I called GiGi lived in one. My parents had converted the one next door into a six-bedroom main house. The final two cabins sat a mile away, at the very base of the mountain. I lived in one while a permanent member of staff always lived in the other. My dad must really like this guy and was planning on keeping him on staff during the offseason.

It was a ten-minute drive from the main resort to the cabins and the new guy's front door was literally only about fifty feet from my own so checking it out was no big deal. It's not like it was out of my way. I even parked in my own driveway. Using the manager's key, I let myself inside and did a quick walkthrough of the small cabin. All the protective covers had been taken off the furniture and I could smell the lemony scent of wood polish in the air. Everything had been dusted and the kitchen and bathroom scrubbed clean. I was in the bedroom making sure that fresh linens had been put on the bed when I nearly had a heart attack. Hell, it might actually have been a minor coronary event.

“Wow. When Mr. Snow said the job came with a cabin... he didn't say anything about a pretty girl.”

I probably jumped at least a foot in the air and brought my hand to my chest in an attempt to calm my racing heart. I spun around and came face to face with... perfection. Yep, the tall Native American man with the long black hair that was tied up behind his head was the closest thing to perfection that I had ever seen. The smirk he was wearing on his too-handsome face revealed that he had dimples. I was a sucker for dimples.

“Maverick, I take it?” I asked once my heartbeat had returned to a somewhat normal rhythm.

He nodded and stepped forward, holding out his hand in greeting, “Yeah, you must be Winter? Your old man said that I might find you down here.” He had a really unique, mellow voice that was laced with just a hint of a southern accent.

“That would be me and I can't...” I held up my arm and showed him my cast to illustrate why I couldn't shake hands.

“Ouch, girl, what'd you do?” he asked with a slight wince in his tone.

Okay. I can't tell him how clumsy and airheaded I really am... LIE!

“I tried to kick a soccer ball while strapped to my snowboard and ended up sliding backward down the bunny slope and breaking my wrist against a tree.”

Word vomit... just freakin' wonderful.

He laughed and I really couldn't blame him. “Why would you do that?”

Alright, mouth, let's try this again. I can't tell him that I was playing human Sorting Hat... LIE!

“I was mentally sorting the people in my lesson into the four houses of Hogwarts from Harry Potter and I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing.” Crap. My brain and mouth had stopped communicating. The tanned skinned hottie in front of me had caused me to short circuit. Time to bail. “Here's your key.” I dug it out of my jeans pocket and handed it to him. “Welcome to the staff. I need to get going.

“Why?” he raised an eyebrow. “You on the clock?”

“No,” I said shaking my head. “I'm just running my mouth like I've been dosed with Veritaserum so I figured I'd take off before I made a complete and total fool of myself.” Too damn late.

“Did Professor Snape let his hand slip over your morning glass of pumpkin juice?” He smirked and crossed his arms over her rather broad chest.

Oh, sweet Merlin, he had just paraphrased the late, great Alan Rickman's portrayal of Severus Snape from the _Harry Potter_ films... and became fifty percent hotter in my book.

“Good to know,” Maverick laughed. “If I want to get on your good side, all I have to do is quote Harry Potter.”

Fuck. My. Life. I had said that OUT LOUD!

 

**_[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) _ **

 


	3. Chapter 3

The next time I saw Maverick was the next morning at dawn. My day hadn't exactly started out on the right note. I had overslept by half an hour and now my damn Range Rover wouldn't start. I needed to get going if I was going to have time to open the front office for the day and make it to my first class on time. I had tried calling my parents but they weren't answering their cell or house phones. I couldn't call and ask GiGi for a ride. She didn't drive anymore because of her poor eyesight. Needless to say, but... Maverick caught me in the middle of an epic meltdown. I was cursing out the world and kicking the shit out of one of my tires when he found me.

“Damn girl, it is way too early to be that angry.”

I turned around to find him standing at the end of the small gravel driveway. His hair was loose this morning and hung down past his shoulders. He was wearing a black MMA hoodie to protect against the early November cold and he had stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

“What are you doing here?” I groaned like a child. It was way too early to be dealing with the Native American hottie.

“I was warming up my truck to head into town when I heard you yell, 'Merlin's balls'. I figured that I should come and check on you,” he chuckled.

Oh for the love of J.K. Rowling! How many times was I going to make a fool out of myself in front of this dude?

“My truck won't start and I'm going to be late opening the office and for school,” I complained to him. “My stupid parents won't answer the phone and we haven't let my GiGi drive since she hit a tree going fifteen miles an hour!” I was in full on rant mode by this point.

Maverick took me by surprise when he grabbed my messenger bag off of the hood of my Range Rover and slung it over his shoulder. “Come on, Luna. I'll give you a ride.”

He had just called me Luna. As in Luna Lovegood... the most awesome female character in all of Harry Potter fandom.

“You know, eventually I'll also need a ride home,” I pointed out.

Maverick surprised me further when he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to sling his arm around my shoulders. “That's just more time I get to spend with you.” He laid a playful kill on my cheek and I had to resist screaming like a teenage girl at a boyband concert.

I luckily managed to keep my mouth from running too far away from me for the rest of the morning.

Maverick had been nice enough to help me with my morning chores around the office. Once Sally, the morning front desk clerk arrived for her shift, he drove me to school. We had made it with twenty minutes to spare before my first class of the day. I spent that extra (rare) free time in the passenger seat of Maverick's old Chevy pick-up truck. We chatted about everything and nothing all at the same time. Maverick was incredibly easy to talk to and he never made me feel self-conscious... no matter how geeky or weird the words coming out of my mouth were. I actually allowed myself to relax around another human being that I wasn't related to.... something that I had a very hard time doing.

“I can't believe we were both born in Texas.” Maverick laughed after I told him where I was born. “Small freakin' world.” He shook his head in amusement. “A Marine brat and Stone Warren's grandson meet in snowy Montana... must be fate.”

Holy Dumbledore!

Stone Warren was an old Apache bounty hunter. He had gained his fame (infamy really) by publishing books blaming crime and drug addiction on liberals (blacks and gays if you read between the lines). A mouthpiece for the Republican party, Stone Warren was the male, Native American equivalent of Ann Coulter. He had even been caught on video using the word 'nigger' numerous times.

God had a really mean sense of humor. The last guy that I had been interested in was the fictional Harry Potter character, Draco Malfoy. I finally develop an interest in a real live person and he turns out to be the grandson of an old racist.

Maverick must have sensed my unease because he quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to look at me. “I'm not like him, Winter. I don't see color. Please, don't judge me based on my grandfather's actions. That's exactly what I'm running from.”

When I looked at him, Maverick had a tortured expression on his face and I had a hard time believing that he was being dishonest. “Okay,” I gave him my sincerest smile to let him know that we were still okay.

“I'll let your old man know that someone needs to take a look at your truck when I get back to the resort.” Maverick thankfully changed the subject to keep things from getting weird. “I'll be back to pick you up at noon. Winter, do you think you might want to hang out with me tonight in the clubhouse once we're off?”

I was pretty sure that he was asking me on a date and I kinda started doing a little happy dance in my head. “I'd like that.” I nodded.

I must have turned five different shades of red when he leaned over and kissed my cheek before I got out.

 

_**[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) ** _

 


	4. Chapter 4

As George Washington (not really) said, ‘I can not tell a lie.’ I went about the rest of my day in a happy little fog. It was almost like I had purchased a Patented Daydream Charm from Fred and George Weasley. All I could think about was Maverick. I hadn't even been phased when the new order of staff sweaters had arrived in the wrong color blur or when the guest who had reserved the penthouse suite had called to cancel her reservation at the last minute.

Because my dad had accidentally messed up the schedule and scheduled two desk clerks for the afternoon shift, I had lucked out and gotten off work at two... a full three hours early.

I had gone back to my cabin and changed out of my work clothes and into a pair of white leggings and a black yoga top. Slipping on my favorite, worn out pair of uggs, I grabbed my copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (to hell with homework) and headed for the clubhouse. Maverick didn't get off of work until seven. I figured I would catch up on my reading while I waited.

Once in the clubhouse, I went straight for my favorite spot. An overstuffed brown leather sofa in a corner of the large, log-cabin inspired facility. It sat directly in front of the smallest fireplace. When my favorite waitress, a college girl around my age named, Sue, came around I ordered my usual – a pumpkin spice hot chocolate with a splash of carrot juice, extra whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkled on top. It wasn't actually on the menu and Sue was the only waitress nice enough to take the time to make it for me. I called it the Fred in honor of the fallen Weasley twin.

I was halfway through my book and on my third Fred and I must have lost track of the time because the next thing I knew someone was lightly kicking my foot. I looked up to find Maverick standing in front of me wearing a smirk and holding a plate bearing a sandwich.

“Gunny asked me to bring you this.” He set the plate on the side table next to me. Wow. Dad must really like Maverick if he already had him calling him 'Gunny. “He said you got your hands on a new Harry Potter book and that I should make sure you eat because you will forget to. He took a seat next to me. “He also told me to tell you to lay off of the Freds or you won't be able to sleep tonight. Now, I have a question – what the hell is a Fred?”

I laughed and reached down to the coffee table to grab my mug. I handed it to him and watched as he took a sip, grimaced like he was in physical pain, and handed it right back to me.

“Damn, Luna... that is truly disgusting.” He flagged down Sue and ordered a mint hot chocolate.

So, was Luna his nickname for me now? If it was... AWESOME! Wait a second... had he told my dad that he was meeting up with me? That's the only reason why my dad would have sent Maverick with a sandwich.

“Of course I told your old man,” Maverick nodded. What the hell was with me and thinking out loud lately? This new habit was going to get me into trouble before long, I just knew it. “I wanted to make sure that I had his blessing to date you and, given my family history, I wanted him to know that my intentions were honorable.”

Who the hell was this guy? Maverick had actually asked my father's permission to court me like I was some southern belle ala Gone with the Wind. Not that I had any experience but, from what I'd heard and seen... guys didn't do that sort of thing anymore.

“This is a date?” I asked just to clarify.

“This is us getting to know each other to see if we like each other enough to go on a date,” he corrected me as Sue arrived with his drink.

Yeah, I was completely out of my depths and probably about to make a giant fool out of myself.

 

 

**_[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com)_ **


	5. Chapter 5

“Alright,” I chuckled a little nervously. “How do we go about this?” I had never been on a date before. I didn't know that there wasn't some unspoken script that I needed to follow.

“First, you pick up your sandwich and eat,” he ordered good-naturedly.

I grabbed my sandwich off of the plate on the coffee table and took a bite. Peanut butter and strawberries – my favorite. Dad must have made this himself.

“Second, we talk and ask each other questions,” Maverick continued once he seemed satisfied that I was eating. “We take turns. Can I go first?”

I nodded because my mouth was too full to speak.

“What is your favorite color? Mine's red.”

I swallowed so I could answer. “Ravenclaw blue. What's your favorite song?”

“Letter To Me' by Brad Paisley.” I was surprised. I guess because of his age I was suspecting his musical tastes to run a little bit more towards Eminem. “Same question.”

“I Wanna Be Loved Like That' by Shenandoah.” It seemed like both of us were a little bit country. “Why 'Letter To Me?'”

Maverick pulled the hair tie out of his hair and ran his fingers through the silky strands to comb them. Merlin, he was sexy when he did that. “Because it reminds me that we aren't defined by our pasts and that there is always hope – and a good woman – waiting up ahead. Why Shenandoah?”

I took a nervous deep breath and let it out. “Because I want a guy to love me like that.”

He smiled slightly at my answer.

By the time I finished my sandwich and the rest of my Fred the questions – and answers – had gotten a lot more personal.

“Why do you love Harry Potter so much?” He nodded at my book which lay forgotten on the coffee table.

“Because the wizarding world is a place where bullied kids like Harry and even oddballs like Luna can find a place to fit in; a place to belong. That's a pretty wonderful concept to someone like me who's never really fit in anywhere.”

That was the first time that I had ever shared that piece of myself with another living soul.


End file.
